Wrecked By Tech

Dan's away this week. While he is, Marc and Riley talk about Fortnite and PUBG for mobile platforms, the autonomous Uber that killed a woman in Arizona (and its fallout), a public-private partnership that'll give $400 million toward 5G research in Canada, and empathetic robots designed to help call centre employees.

Speed round:

Links:

• Fortnite for iOS generated over $1M of in-app purchases during first 3 days on the App Store | 9to5Mac
• Major video game tournament abandoning Seattle for Vancouver | CBC News
• Uber Halts Autonomous Car Tests After Fatal Crash in Arizona | Bloomberg
• Fatal Accident Involving Autonomous Uber Car Halts Testing in U.S. and Toronto | Techvibes
• Toyota halts self-driving car tests following fatal Uber accident | Mobilesyrup
• Uber 'likely' not at fault in fatal self-driving car accident, says police chief | Mobilesyrup
• Ontario and Quebec to launch '5G corridor' through $400 million public-private partnership | Mobilesyrup
• Call Centers Tap Voice-Analysis Software to Monitor Moods | WIRED
• Facebook Lite for Android: A Hands-On Look | WIRED
• Why Facebook Users Should Download Messenger Lite Instead of Messenger | WIRED
• Amazon is testing a “brief mode” for Alexa that replaces verbal responses with beeps | The Verge
• Google Lens is now available on iOS | The Verge
• Google Home now features location-based reminders | Mobilesyrup
• Owners of Tinder are suing dating app Bumble for patent infringement | Mobilesyrup
• Atari's retro console is called the 'VCS,' pre-order date to be announced in April | Mobilesyrup
• The Source has issued a recall for five Nexxtech power bank models | Mobilesyrup
• Apple using secret facility to develop MicroLED screens for Apple Watch | The Verge
• eBay’s new AR tool helps sellers find the right box for their item | TechCrunch
• Marc's review: the EcoFlow Tech River portable power supply | Android Central

In this week's episode, we run a little long talking about Marc's move away from piracy and Dan's purchase of a Plex Pass. Then we get into an MIT study blaming humans for the real spread of fake news, Snapchat's latest "feature," YouTube's attempt to curb conspiracy theories, the new Fitbit devices, and a gripe about Sony.

Speed round:

Links:

• Fake info travels faster than truth on Twitter, study finds | Toronto Star
• Snapchat will soon add user-made lenses to its app | Mobilesyrup
• YouTube will add information from Wikipedia to videos about conspiracies | The Verge
• Fitbit Versa | Fitbit
• Fitbit Ace | Fitbit
• Microsoft confirms Sony is blocking Fornite Xbox one to PS4 cross-play | Mobilesyrup
• Sony's headphone jack dongle is a perfect example of why USB-C is a mess | Mobilesyrup
• Alphabet CEO Larry Page unveils flying taxi in New Zealand | The Globe and Mail
• Facebook signs deal with Warner to use its music | CBC News
• Registration for the iOS version of Fornite is now open | Mobilesyrup
• Qualcomm is saved by Trump, but it still faces existential threats | Toronto Star
• Google Pay may soon let Canadians send money to friends | Mobilesyrup
• Apple is buying Texture, the digital magazine distributor | Recode
• Philips Hue outdoor lighting | Philips Lighting
• Ecobee’s new Switch+ puts Alexa in your light switch | The Verge
• Bell is informing customers about new LTE emergency alert system | Mobilesyrup
• Apple's 2018 WWDC is set for June 4 in San Jose, California | Mobilesyrup

In this week's accidentally social-media focused episode, we chat (again) about Vero and what it's like a week later, BlackBerry suing Facebook for things we take for granted, hidden code hinting at features in Instagram, and Google Clips.

Speed round:

Links:

• As controversy swirls, social network Vero is closing in on 3 million users | The Verge
• BlackBerry sues Facebook in the U.S. for patent infringement | Mobilesyrup
• BlackBerry sues Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram over messaging patents | The Verge
• Instagram’s code reveals potential voice and video calling features | The Verge
• Google Clips review: A thing that exists | Android Central
• Google Clips review: a smart camera that doesn’t make the grade | The Verge
• Dyson's new Pure Cool air purifier features an LCD display | Mobilesyrup
• Molekule Canada | Molekule
• Pizza Hut’s Pie Tops II sneakers can order a pizza and pause your TV | The Verge
• Star Wars and Solo Cup team up for a partnership made in pun hell | The Verge
• Lego will sell its first sustainable pieces later this year | The Verge
• Working with Google Cloud to bring all your work together | Dropbox Blog
• Snap is reportedly working on a new version of Spectacles | The Verge

In this week's news we talk about the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ (briefly), ridesharing apps in Manitoba (at length), Google Assistant helping you with your cell phone bills (an average conversation) and a trendy new social media app called Vero (for a very long time).

Speed round:

Links:

• Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ | The Official Samsung Galaxy Site
• TappCar will be on Winnipeg streets Friday | Winnipeg SUN
• Uber, Lyft continue Winnipeg prep even though they won't be ready to roll next week | CBC News
• Studies are increasingly clear: Uber, Lyft congest cities | AP News
• Koodo and Telus expand on Google Assistant integration, explain how it will work | Mobilesyrup
• Vero - True Social | Vero
• Vero Manifesto — Vero - True Social | Vero
• Samsung’s Bixby smart speaker is coming in the second half of 2018 | The Verge
• Intel didn’t warn US government about CPU security flaws until they were public | The Verge
• Apple confirms it now uses Google Cloud for iCloud services | The Verge
• California Welcomes Self-Driving Cars Without Humans Inside | WIRED
• YouTube live streams will soon include automatic captions | The Verge
• TCL shipped 850,000 BlackBerry KEYone smartphones in 2017 | Mobilesyrup

In this week's (admittedly bleak) show, we chat about the Russian election interference, Shaw's massive employee departure, Huawei and Telus' Canadian 5G test (see? not all bad), Tesla's smart power grid in Nova Scotia, and the iOS patch for that Indian character glitch.

Speed round:

Links:

• The U.S. government says Russia infiltrated Facebook with fake users, accounts and groups supporting Donald Trump | Recode
• Shaw loses a quarter of its workforce in voluntary departure program | Mobilesyrup
• Huawei launches 5G wireless-to-the-home trial with Telus | Mobilesyrup
• Tesla's latest smart power grid experiment begins in Canada | Engadget
• Apple issues software update to fix iOS character bug | Mobilesyrup
• Google’s new AI algorithm predicts heart disease by looking at your eyes | The Verge
• Twitter Support | Twitter
• Huge Mayan city with pyramids found hidden under jungle | CBC News
• Photo of an atom: A scientist captured an incredible photograph | Quartz
• The one painful flaw in Apple’s new ‘spaceship’ campus | The Globe and Mail

In this week's show we discuss a vulnerability in Freedom Mobile, Apple's insane Apple Watch sales numbers, Waymo and Uber's sudden court settlement, the HomePod, and Unilever's pledge to Facebook and YouTube (hint: shape up or we'll ship out).

Speed round:

Links:

• Hacker uncovers Freedom Mobile customer login vulnerability | Mobilesyrup
• Apple outsold the entire Swiss watch industry in 2017 | Business Insider
• Waymo and Uber reach a surprise settlement | The Verge
• We Ran HomePod Through the Smart Speaker Gauntlet | Loup Ventures
• Unilever Threatens to Reduce Ad Spending on Tech Platforms That Don’t Combat Divisive Content | WSJ
• Alto's Odyssey – the next adventure awaits
• Essential shipped 88,000 phones in 2017: IDC | Mobilesyrup
• Android Messages may soon let you text from the web | The Verge
• HomePod Teardown | iFixit

In this week's episode, we talk about Intel's new smart glasses (Vaunt); the Pixel 2's Visual Core Chip; Microsoft's new "S Mode," which will replace 10 S; getting your iPhone battery replaced; Elon's total flamethrower sales; Netflix buying a Canadian film (and not letting us see it right away); Windows Mixed Reality; and Marc's experience with Daydream.

Speed round:

Links:

• Exclusive: Intel’s new Vaunt smart glasses actually look good | The Verge
• Pixel 2's dormant photo-improving Visual Core chip is now active | Mobilesyrup
• Microsoft ditches Windows 10 S in favor of new ‘S Mode’ | The Verge
• Apple launches 'Reserve a Battery' service for iPhone battery replacements | Mobilesyrup
• Elon Musk made $10 million USD from selling 20,000 flamethrowers | Mobilesyrup
• Netflix acquires French-Canadian film Les Affamés | Mobilesyrup
• Windows Mixed Reality Review: A foot in the virtual door | Mobilesyrup
• Strava users, in midst of privacy problems, are reporting that a top feature has been disabled | The Verge
• The Cloverfield Paradox | Netflix Official Site
• Canon May Add Fingerprint ID to Its Cameras and Lenses | PetaPixel
• Face Unlock now officially available on the OnePlus 5 | Mobilesyrup
• OnePlus promotes the 5T with a series of nightmarish 'smart test' ads | Mobilesyrup
• Android Nougat is officially the most-used version of Android | The Verge

In this week's episode we talk about a Canadian Senate report that calls us "ill-prepared" for self-driving vehicles; Strava data that may have exposed several secret military bases; the Google Clips Camera; the HomePod; Elon Musk's no-joke, real-life, you-can-pay-money-to-buy flamethrower; and Facebook's latest AI research that aims to make assistants more human.

Speed round:

Links:

• Canada is 'ill-prepared' for the future of automated cars: Senate report | Mobilesyrup
• Fitness devices may reveal sensitive info about soldiers' locations | CBC News
• U.S. soldiers are revealing sensitive and dangerous information by jogging | The Washington Post
• Google Clips – Wireless Smart Camera | Google Store
• HomePod | Apple
• Flamethrower | The Boring Company
• California politician will seek sale ban on Elon Musk’s Boring Company flamethrower | The Verge
• Facebook is trying to teach chatbots how to chit-chat | The Verge
• The Room: Old Sins on the App Store
• The people making fake AI porn have been temporarily distracted by Nicolas Cage | The Verge
• Tom Hanks to Play Mr. Rogers in ‘You Are My Friend’ | Variety
• Don't Let Bell Censor Our Internet | OpenMedia

Dan's back! In this week's show we talk about new arrivals to CraveTV, funding for STEM and coding in schools, the new Amazon Go grocery store, and a picture-centric encrypted messaging app in alpha.

Speed round:

Links:

• Game of Thrones and Silicon Valley are coming to CraveTV | Mobilesyrup
• Liberals spending $50M to teach K-12 students and their teachers coding | CBC News
• Amazon's 1st high-tech grocery store opens to the public | CBC News
• Amazon Go Photos: Here’s what the new cashier-less convenience store looks like | Recode
• Amazon Go debuts, and its prying cameras foil our shoplifting attempts | Ars Technica
• Pixek App Encrypts Your Photos From Camera to Cloud | WIRED
• Root Cause of Reboot Issue Identified; Updated Guidance for Customers and Partners | Intel
• CHP says drunk driving suspect on Bay Bridge says Tesla was on auto-pilot | abc7news.com
• Tim Cook surprises Toronto students in first visit to Canada as Apple CEO | The Globe and Mail
• Nintendo Switch is the Fastest Selling Canadian Console Ever with 400,000 Shipped | Techvibes
• Android 8.1 will now display the speed of public Wi-Fi networks | Mobilesyrup
• iTunes mishap leaks Thor: Ragnarok online almost one month early | Mobilesyrup

This week, while Dan's away fixing his computer, Marc and Riley run down a number of very interesting things to come out of CES (and a couple interesting non-CES things too). Look forward to robots, more televisions, the headlights of the future, Facebook's new News feed algorithm, and more.

Links:

• Samsung just unveiled a 146-inch, modular TV that could surpass OLED | The Verge
• Aflac’s toy robot for kids facing cancer is the smartest toy of all | The Verge
• Omron’s Forpheus ping-pong robot is the most encouraging coach you can have | The Verge
• Texas Instruments' New Headlights Dazzle With a Million Pixels | WIRED
• I faced off against a Scrabble-playing robot and lost miserably | The Verge
• Ubtech Walker is a biped butler robot with no arms but a lot of charm The Verge
• Taking a ride on Segway’s Loomo robot | The Verge
• This robot prototype is designed to help maintain other robots | The Verge
• I played with Sony’s new Aibo robot dog, and I miss it already | The Verge
• Peloton Tread is the treadmill I want but can’t afford | The Verge
• I tried out a sleep mask that emits light from the inside to wake you up naturally | The Verge
• Vestaboard brings the internet to old-school mechanical split-flap displays | The Verge
• This smart dishwasher can wash your dishes and cook seafood | The Verge
• Alexa will one day be able to tell you what it thinks about movies and beer | The Verge
• Our new News Feed | Mark Zuckerberg | Facebook
• One man ruptured his throat by trying to hold back a sneeze | The Verge